Burning Memories
by mysterie
Summary: Some memories never go away no matter how much you wish to drown them. Logan with an unknown past, how will it affect his future. Crossover with XMen. Slight AU. ML friendly.
1. Dark Stirrings

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, from Dark Angel or X-men. This is an AU with no particular timeline in mind. Logan and Max are not really in a relationship but its M/L friendly. At this time this is only a sudden urge to write. I will get what is rattling around in my head as it comes. I am not a huge 100 page writer but I will try to make an interesting story. Read and review, constructive criticism helps, kay shutting up now.

* * *

The email message came as a surprise, from one he had not heard from or expected in years. _Psi,_  
_A old mutual friend has lost their way. Unknown Factors have somehow taken him under extreme duress. CEREBRO has located him near the outskirts of Seattle. We heard a name before lost of contact, Lydecker. As one of my best students I suspect you may not expect much trouble, but this situation may have hints of Weapon X's past. As you know he is not easily captured. Be careful, there is a situation at the Institute at the moment so I may not be able to send any aid immediately. I know you wish for past to be past but this may have to do with your interest in Manticore. Any help will be appreciated._  
_Your teacher and friend,_  
_Xavier_

Logan pushed his glasses up as they slipped down and pressed back against his wheelchair. _Psi_ a name he hoped he would never hear again. _Another life, another time_, he thought. But an old friend needed his help and he owed Xavier. _Especially after_, he felt his hands begin to lightly shake; recognizing the symptoms quickly pulled a drawer next to his desk open quickly and pulled out a bottle of pills. Shaking out two he dry swallowed them and waited for the shaking to stop and the voices and feelings which burned on the edge of his consciousness to silence. Dropping the bottle back into the drawer he shut it.

_My legs or my past_, Logan did not know what was worse drugging himself to a stupor and not letting his natural, _unnatural _he scoffed in his head, abilities to heal his spine or allowing himself go down that other path. The path where his was a fricking superhero that couldn't even save his own family, whose mind nearly died when his parents died, and who nearly destroyed a whole wing at the institute as he shut down after their deaths nearly injuring many students. A path where his abilities could rage out of control and could hurt way too many people. Shutting his eyes tightly a brief vision of the past ran through his mind. The burning fire, the scream_ Mother, Father!_, his mind burned with the feelings of them dying even far away in a silent dorm room watching as he was too far away to help them, as the house burned.

"Logan feed me!"

Max's voice suddenly blazed past his memories and broke him of his dark supor. He had only moments before she swanned into the computer room to compose himself.

"Hey sumthing up?"

Max not missing a beat saw him tremble just slightly and became worried. Moving her hand to the drawer that he just closed she pulled it open and reached in for the bottle.

"Hey you took your meds? You know I need to take mine and you need to take yours right? 'cept yours not life threatening or nothing right? You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, gotta take care of my shakes that's all, I already took some." He never told her what they were really for just that he had a slight nervous disorder after the shooting that caused him to shake so needed them. Not like she ever really pushed. Looking up as she dropped the bottle back in the drawer and shut it he swung the chair around with her following.

"Hey got one of my culinary miracles coming right up, Chef Cale is making Duck L'Orange tonight." Max gave a squeal and followed him out of the room.


	2. A Old Friend

Standard disclaimers listed on the first chapter. My old memories of X-Men (crowded with dabblings in the cartoons, comics and movies) may be off and some of my Dark Angel memories may be off toobut I'll try to stay true. Actually I may just make if vague if I'm not sure. Just email me if anything seems wrong that I should change. I don't mind constructive criticism.

* * *

After dinner Max left to hang out at Crash with her friends Logan rolled back into the dark room. Sitting in front of the computer he began contacting all the sources he could about Wolverine, as he assumed that was who Xavier wanted him to find. Of course if Lydecker when after him Logan had a feeling Manticore would be getting a taste of Adamamtium and some feral anger. Remembering Wolverine's temper he smiled picturing Lydecker and Renfro running around watching Manticore burn. But if Xavier was right they may have had help taking Wolverine down. 

Picking up the phone he sighed and placed a call.

"Hello Logan," A feminine voice purred into the phone, "you never write, you never call I thought you just about died. A girl gets the feeling you don't like her anymore"

"Hello Simone, you know why I cut those connections years ago. I need help."

"Moi, I thought you cut those little connections.."

"It's Wolverine." There was silence as a feelings of playfulness turned to seriousness reached him even with the drugs in his system.

"Information now," the voice now very serious with a hint of anger demanded.

"Xavier emailed me earlier saying he was taken and possibly being held near Seattle"

"Wolverine, they gotta death wish. No way he would be taken."

"I'm not certain but it could be true, Xavier wouldn't make it seem serious and write me just to chat. It's a serious concern that links with what I know about the characters that make or may not have him."

"No one holds Wolverine."

"Except these people may be related to Manticore and Weapon X programme." There was a long silence as Simone considered his words.

"Stupid black ops creating those poor chimeras to take on the world… to take on the mutants, I thought they gave up before the pulse." Simone's bitter voice sounded tired. "I'll do a look see if any info pops up and I'll email you"

"Thanks."

"So if it's big you gonna put alway those pills and get outta that stupid chair or you be playing Eyes Only on this little rescue"

"How.. "

"I know you Logan, you may not be with the X-Menbut you still have that Hero itch to scratch and that little kitty cat you have helping isn't very quiet like her littermates. Those little incidents like the conference raised some eyebrows. Heck I didn't notice until after you were there too. I just put two and two together and you know…"

"It's my business, Simone, I know you're discrete," Logan ended that as an open ended question.

"Humph, whatever. Go back to your computers and I'll check my end. Oh, what would your little kitty cat think about your little gift? Ciao." She hung up before Logan could make a scathing comment and left him staring at the drawer.

Logan remembered back when they were young and he first meet Simone. Beaten within every inch of her body and rescued by Wolverine. She owed Wolverine big. Becoming good friends was easy but getting her to heal was hard. Hating the strict confines of the Institute, she left to who knows where.

He knew she had contacts with intelligence before he left the institute and every once in a while she would email him a little hint for Eyes Only work. He didn't know she knew that much through. He ought to of known that she, who knew him the best back in school, would know he was Eyes Only.

She was angry with him for a long time because he gave up his powers. Hell, the last time they had a big argument it was over the wheelchair. She wanted him to give the pills up to heal, but he was afraid. Afraid of what after all these years he wasn't sure but seeing the destruction he left long ago made him wish the wheelchair was his only punishment.


	3. And That Which Burns

Standard disclaimers in the first chapter. Now I didn't want to use any particular X-men universe (movie, cartoon, comic) but I will introduce a big bad in this chapter from the first movie. I know he isn't really a bad guy etc (in the comic) but I needed a bad guy and he's it. I was asked and Simone is an original character, sorry for any confusion. Sorry for those of the X-Men fandom if Wolverine isn't in character, hey he has gotten older (I know, I know he's near immortal).

* * *

_The pain was unbelievable. The cold chill that ran down his spine as he felt the dual fear, "God I have to help him/her". The burning away at the skin and the heat of the flames just burning away at the insides. The cold chill of death coming, the last wishes and memories coming, then the silence… A horrible chill through his mind as the feelings and thoughts he had always had near his mind since birth were silenced. No, no, no Mother! Father! Changing to a feeling of something building and awakening to chaos, the chaos of a building with a large circular like hole on the side with a young man still on a bed the only thing in a forty foot radius still in tact screaming_

Logan suddenly shot up straight on his chair from the computer desk as the fading nightmare left his mind. His glasses listed to one side and his hair all over the place he sighed. _Hadn't had one of those dreams in a long while, usually a nightmare of Max on a cold hard metal table with Lydecker and Renfro looking on._

Brushing his hair back and fixing into place his glasses he looked at the information net to see if Simone or any of his contacts responded. Opening up some windows and looking through some sites he finally got what he needed.

It was a security video of something. Wolverine was in his civvies trying to stop a man from hurting a small boy. Then said boy along with several other children that appeared in the frame dressed in army fatigues suddenly surrounded him. He would never raise a claw at a child so they surprised him when they attacked him. Several soldiers came running in and took him down with some shots from some rifles. They looked like tranqs because Wolverines body did not jerk like he was hit by bullets but they shot him many, many times while some of the children clung on to him.

The video was a few days old but still no Wolverine so Logan was wondering how they were keeping him down. Worried he reached for the phone when the video showed a final piece of footage before it ended and he saw Lydecker and a man, not just any man, Robert Kelly.

Pausing looking shocked then an old hidden hurt suddenly built up into a feeling of a rare rage, he reached for the phone. It was picked up in one ring.

"Simone, I got the video, did you see?"

"Yeah, I thought the bastard was dead." She replied with a quiet rage.

"So did I."

"I guess this won't be a quick in, out rescue and taking out all misappropriated information as usual"

"Like what we ever do it is just as usual. I think may be a much, much bigger problem with HIM involved." Logan's hand began to tremble and he pulled out the drawer and reached for his pills.

"So you gonna rot in that chair and let him get away again or you gonna go after him."

Logan stared hard at the pills and paused as a fleeting burning memory flickered through his mind. With his eyes squeezed shut he shook hard. His eyes popped open and with a determined look he dropped the bottle of pills in a basket next to his desk.

"He and I got some old history to deal with," the images of a burning home replayed as memory of a tall, stately salt and peppered haired man commanded a group of people to burn and spray a no mutant symbol in the front of a burning yard. It was the last memory that he received from his dying father before it went dark. The memory refueled his rage and he answered with a cold hard rasp, "and yes I'm going to get outta my chair."

The short silence from the other side of the line seemed glaring, "I'll call you when I'm in Seattle, are you going to call up and notify kitty cats sibs?"

"Yeah, they may need a heads up incase this new _alliance_ may involve them. Maybe they may want to help take them down."

"Good luck with your kitty cat." She paused and sounding regretful yet firm, "and hey you got more control than you think."

The rage abated and an old guilt returned. With a harsh croak he whispered, "so I won't be taking out a wing or maybe a city block when I'm pissed off this time."

"Hey after, you know, you just didn't want to believe yourself anymore. Your parents did, they thought you were special. Hell, they thought all of us were special. They knew you were going to change the world, hell you still do. And that was a long time ago; you won't get outta control unless you want to, you learned your lesson."

"That's the problem, what if I want to," Logan ended with a resigned sigh and hung up before she could respond and stared at the frozen picture of a former Robert Kelly, leader of a group of anti-mutant terrorists, the one who burned Logan's home down with his parents still in it.

* * *

sim-r, CrimsonReality, Lin: Thanks! 

Babyangel86: I intend to add in some Logan/Max time but I'm not all that good at romance but I'll try.

Reilynn: Simone is an OC charcter and I'm also dating myself as I kinda remember watch the old cartoons and reading the comics sigh.


End file.
